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Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club
Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (commonly abbreviated PGRC) is an amateur rowing club located at #14 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest all-female rowing club in existence.[3] Built in 1860, the club's boathouse is the oldest structure on Boathouse Row,[1] which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.[4] PGRC was founded in 1938 by seventeen women (mostly wives of oarsmen at other clubs) who wanted to participate in the then predominantly male sport of rowing.[1][3] History of the boathouseIn 1860, Philadelphia City Council authorized construction of the structure that is now #14 Boathouse Row for the purpose of housing the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society.[5] Architect, James C. Sidney, designed the building to provide for the Skating Club, but also included a basement facility to store boats for neighboring rowing clubs whose boat houses were scheduled to be removed by the city.[6] Samuel Sloan, a well-known Philadelphia architect, likely influenced the design of #14 Boathouse Row with his rendering of "Italian Villa," Plate XXIV, in his book "Model Architect."[7] The construction cost $4,900 and was completed in 1861.[8] The Undine and University Barge Clubs housed their boats at the Philadelphia Skating Club building until the city permitted them to build their own structures in 1882 and 1871, respectively.[9] From 1884 through 1895, the second Iona Boat Club (now defunct) occupied the space in the building left vacant by Undine Barge Club.[9] With the advent of artificially frozen indoor skating rinks at the beginning of the 20th century, skating on the Schuylkill River declined precipitously.[10] In 1965, PGRC purchased the boathouse from the Philadelphia Skating Club.[11] Occupant timeline Photo gallery
See alsoFurther reading
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club.
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